The Hope Prize

In partnership with Ubwali Literary Magazine, the Hope Prize celebrates the best of Zambian prose and poetry. Ubwali was founded and is edited by former Shenandoah Editorial Fellow Mubanga Kalimamukwento. In addition to celebrating African diasporic writing, the Hope Prize is one of the ways Shenandoah honors its commitment to support editorial fellows, past and present.

One winner is selected each year from the staff of Ubwali, receives an honorarium of $500, and is featured in the fall issue of Shenandoah. Only work by Zambian writers published in Ubwali Literary Magazine will be considered for the prize. There is no separate application process; all Zambian writers published in Ubwali Literary Magazine in the preceding year will be considered. A shortlist will be announced in June, and a winner in July.

Our inaugural Hope Prize winner for 2025 is Mukande Siame for her essay “Like Mother.”